What theater did chuck baird work at

Remembering Chuck Baird: Artist of Life

 

The National Association of the Deaf mourns the passing of Chuck Baird, an extraordinary artist who showed the beauty of Deaf culture and American Sign Language (ASL) through his amazing artwork.

Chuck Baird with brushes

Chuck Baird passed away on February 10, 2012 after a long battle with cancer. His life and work is a testimony to his talents, imagination, and creativity. Born February 22, 1947 in Kansas City, he attended the Kansas School for the Deaf and went on to attend Gallaudet College and then the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Art degree (BFA) in Studio Painting in 1974.

Chuck began his art career by painting sets for the National Theater of the Deaf (NTD) for five years, as well as his own artwork while living in New York and Delaware. He furthered his art by joining Spectrum, which is considered a deaf art colony, in Texas. He then returned to the NTD for ten years both as a set designer and as an actor, including being the lead in three plays.

Recognition

Deaf Art Collections: Baird, Chuck (Charles)

Title

Medium

Year

Size

Acquired

Picture

Njamala

Art reproduction
print

1992

 14” x 11” 

Purchased by
Joan Naturale
NTID Librarian

Art, No. 2

Art reproduction
print

1992

 14” x 11” 

Purchased by
Joan Naturale
NTID Librarian

Colors

Art reproduction
print

1993

 14” x 11” 

Purchased by
Joan Naturale
NTID Librarian

Left and Right

Art reproduction
print

2000

 14” x 11” 

Purchased by
Joan Naturale
NTID Librarian

Tyger Tyger

Art reproduction
print

1992

 14” x 11” 

Purchased by
Joan Naturale
NTID Librarian

America

Art reproduction
print

2001

 14” x 11” 

Purchased by
Joan Naturale
NTID Librarian

Photo on black
foamb

Chuck Baird

February 22, 1947 – February 10, 2012

In the year when the first airplane broke the speed of sound, Chuck Baird was born in Kansas City with a moderate hearing loss but grew up culturally deaf.  He attended the Kansas School for the Deaf, Gallaudet University, (formerly College) and National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology.

He has been a painter since his teen years and has led a distinguished career, most notably as the official curator of Deaf Way II art exhibitions at Gallaudet and in Washington DC area in 2002. He has participated in dozens of exhibits, created several commissioned murals, and has served as artist in residence at over thirty deaf schools.

Baird split his time between painting and acting while involved in the National Theatre for the Deaf and Equity theatres for a total of 23 years. He is best remembered for his role as the painter in the stage production of the adapted movie, King of Hearts

Having been involved in Spectrum: Focus on Deaf Artists colony in Austin, Texas in the late 1970s and the Deaf

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